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A review by isabeltyldesley
The Hunger of the Gods by John Gwynne
5.0
5 stars!
This review will contain spoilers to The Shadow of the Gods, book one of The Bloodsworn.
John Gwynne has been my number one since 2015, and he is not budging from that top spot!
Firstly, I'd like to thank John and his team for the accessibility immediately displayed in Hunger. The book opens with a much needed 'Pronunciation Guide', a 'Cast of Characters' (as is present in all of Gwynne's works), a glossary of 'Norse Titles, Terms, and Items', and a 'What's Happened Before' section. All fantasy authors should be looking at this and taking note! In epic fantasy particularly, it's difficult to keep track of everyone and everything, and this is such a neat way to keep the genre accessible. Thank you, John!
Hunger starts off immediately where we ended in Shadow - and yes, that's a lot of action. If you've read Gwynne before, you know his books are never shy of danger, and it truly is around every corner here. The raven's wings are an everlasting presence.
This instalment introduces two new POV's; the antagonists. Gwynne writes the most phenomenal and complex antagonistic forces. Guđvarr is revolting, he's a survivor, and he never says what he means. Gwynne's craftmanship with his chapters are phenomenal; Guđvarr's inner-monologue is on another level. And then, we have Biòrr. Honestly, it's difficult to call Biòrr an antagonist because his reasoning is so sympathetic, and that's exactly why I love him as one of the series' antagonists. He's somewhat reminiscent of Nathair in The Faithful and the Fallen in that way. Although, uh, maybe Nathair did some far worse things.
Thank you, John, for another masterpiece. So much love to all your family.
This review will contain spoilers to The Shadow of the Gods, book one of The Bloodsworn.
John Gwynne has been my number one since 2015, and he is not budging from that top spot!
Firstly, I'd like to thank John and his team for the accessibility immediately displayed in Hunger. The book opens with a much needed 'Pronunciation Guide', a 'Cast of Characters' (as is present in all of Gwynne's works), a glossary of 'Norse Titles, Terms, and Items', and a 'What's Happened Before' section. All fantasy authors should be looking at this and taking note! In epic fantasy particularly, it's difficult to keep track of everyone and everything, and this is such a neat way to keep the genre accessible. Thank you, John!
Hunger starts off immediately where we ended in Shadow - and yes, that's a lot of action. If you've read Gwynne before, you know his books are never shy of danger, and it truly is around every corner here. The raven's wings are an everlasting presence.
This instalment introduces two new POV's; the antagonists. Gwynne writes the most phenomenal and complex antagonistic forces. Guđvarr is revolting, he's a survivor, and he never says what he means. Gwynne's craftmanship with his chapters are phenomenal; Guđvarr's inner-monologue is on another level. And then, we have Biòrr. Honestly, it's difficult to call Biòrr an antagonist because his reasoning is so sympathetic, and that's exactly why I love him as one of the series' antagonists. He's somewhat reminiscent of Nathair in The Faithful and the Fallen in that way. Although, uh, maybe Nathair did some far worse things.
Thank you, John, for another masterpiece. So much love to all your family.